A family of three — student husband (39), wife (37), and a young child — was approved about four months after applying (applied 26 March, approved 27 July 2022), and the poster pushed back on the common advice that applying with family or at an older age means refusal.
What the thread established:
- Age and family are not the refusal reasons people think they are. The poster's core message: refusals come from course selection, profile coherence, finances, ties to home country, and credibility as a student — not from bringing a spouse and child or being nearly 40. Get those fundamentals right and family applications succeed.
- Course must extend your work history. The husband's background was mechanical engineering followed by 5–6 years in project management roles; the chosen program was Project Management — a direct continuation of the recent work experience, which is exactly the progression story officers look for.
- The application was filed under SDS at a university (they also compared a college option for the same field), and was prepared entirely without an agent — the family did it themselves.
- The spouse received an open work permit along with the study permit approval, confirming the whole family package was approved together.
One caveat from the poster: program fees change year to year, so always confirm costs on the institution's website rather than relying on forum figures.